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Is Valentine’s Day Really Worth Fussing About?
Roses are red, violets are blue, Valentine’s is coming, how prepared are you? To be honest, I don’t really care much for this holiday. Particularly because of all the fuss about Valentine’s Day. My favourite flowers – Sunflowers are unavailable at this time of the year anyway. Even worse, many people are worried about not spending Valentine’s Day with that “special someone”.
Should courtship, romance or passion be forced for a single day out of the whole year? It is 48-hours until the 14th and the fuss about Valentine’s Day increases every second. People rushing to get gifts for their partners, trying to make sure to find the “right gift”. Plans for dinner dates and marriage proposals are underway.
Me? I am laid-back and relaxed. You see, Valentine’s Day should be celebrated every day. Love never needs a date stamp.
February 14th is only a day that was created for people to spend money. Well, not really true…but hats off to Hallmark for another great way to make millions!
Why Do We Love Valentine’s Day?
Men are forced – okay not forced, let’s say “encouraged” to get their partners the nicest chocolates, flowers, even write a song or poem. Mostly because women LOVE to be made feel special and wanted, but we also love to make comparisons.
“What did he get you?”, “Where did you go out to dinner?” “Did he propose?”, “How much did the ring cost?” – Oh, the nerve of some people! Isn’t that completely inappropriate? 🙂 But yet we ask anyway because we are curious!
You’ve seen the YouTube videos and read the comments on Facebook. Couples breaking up on Valentine’s day because something went awry during planning and execution! The stress and the fuss about Valentine’s Day are beyond me. God help the guy who made reservations at a restaurant not up to his partner’s standards.
Mind you, I am in no way bashing love. I love to love! I just don’t think it has to be shown on this particular day alone. If we would do this every day we would never have to fuss about Valentine’s day. I never get sucked into the craze of expectations. Show everyone who is important to you how much you love them. All the time.
Each time you love, love as deeply as if it were forever. - Audre Lorde #love #ValentinesDay #couples #relationshipsClick To Tweet
Single People – Don’t Despair On Valentine’s Day
If you are single, there’s not much to fuss about on Valentine’s Day! If you are feeling lonely, you shouldn’t. Why? This is an opportunity and a day to show yourself love. Spend this day loving yourself. Indulge. Pamper yourself.
Self-care is so important for your mind, body, and soul. Tell everyone who asks that you’re spending Valentine’s Day alone. When you tell them, watch their faces and reactions.
I saw this happen the other day at the check-out counter in a store. Two people in front of me speaking. Girl A tells B she is spending Valentine’s Day alone. Girl B’s jaws drops!
She stares at A as if she just told her she had been captured by aliens three years ago, lived on Mars and returned to planet Earth last night. Girl B – “Valentine’s Day? Alone? Are you crazy? Why would you do that?” I laughed to myself. Why not? What’s so odd about that? Why not spend the day with the person you love the most? YOU.
If you haven’t already, make yourself a priority. Yes, we have families, jobs, partners, KIDS, pets – I know, I get it, I understand. You cannot be there for everyone else if you can’t be there for you.
Self-care should be at the top of your list, so you can function 100%.
How And Why Was Valentine’s Day Created?
Here’s how all this craziness began. The Romans held a little festival every year; called Lupercalia, a fertility celebration.
Women would put their names in an urn (yikes!) then men would draw names from the urn. Whichever woman’s name was chosen would be their partner for a year. Easy peasy right? What a great way to find yourself a partner. Not! Think of it as the old version of Tinder.
The rules of the festival were clear and concise. No need to fuss about Valentine’s Day.
Pope Gelasius came along and proposed to make Saint Valentine the patron of the new celebration he created to replace the Festival of Lupercalia.
'So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you. ― Paulo Coelho' Click To Tweet
How Do Countries Around The World Celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Estonia: Instead of giving your partner a gift, you give gifts to your friends. The day is all about friendship.
Japan: It is all about men! Women give chocolates to men and pamper them all day. Men – Thinking about moving to Japan?
Or better yet, how about Eritrea? An order is now in place by the Eritrean government. It says men are to marry no less than two wives or face imprisonment – allegedly!
South Korea: – Traditions are similar to Valentines Day in Japan except men and women receive gifts and chocolates from February 14th and March 14th!
Italy: Well known for its love for love, Italians celebrate February 14th with traditional celebrations of restaurant meals, gifts, and LOTS of romance. Most are gifted Baci Perugina.
South Africa: Many couples get hitched at Robben Island’s annual Valentine’s Day wedding celebration.
China: Love seekers visit the matchmaker statue in a temple to find love.
Austria: My home. Like in so many other countries, we give our partner chocolates, go out to dinner, receive flowers and so on and so forth, bla bla bla.
Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye. -H. Jackson Brown, Jr. #love #relationships #ValentinesDay #couplesClick To Tweet
What Are Your Plans For Valentine’s Day?
Redecorating your room to look like a love den? (*roll eyes here*), or renting a romantic movie? Making a chocolate lava cake? If you are looking to try a good cake, I highly recommend the Sacher Torte.
Sucks that this year the day falls on a weekday, so refrain from overdoing it with the wine.
Valentine’s Day can be stressful and disappointing if you’re in a relationship, and your partner is someone who doesn’t care about the day dedicated to love. Hang out with friends or family instead. Most important is that if it is a special day for you, then make the day special.
Here’s What To Do If You Are Unsure Of What To Do On Valentine’s Day
Even though it is not my favourite holiday, I can still find reasons why Valentine’s Day is worth celebrating.
Here are a few things I can suggest you do. If you are single. dressing up, eating delicious food, drinking delicious wine, and enjoying the company of friends can make for a great Valentine’s Day.
Practice Hygge by staying indoors and enjoying the time at home relaxing. Depending on where you live, it might be freezing cold out, so enjoy the cosy comfort of your own home. Watch your favourite series and indulge.
If you are in a relationship or marriage, treat your partner to show your appreciation. You don’t have to take your partner out to dinner or buy them a gift. Use this day to show a little extra love. *wink wink*
Whether you’re in love, never been in love, or being in love has gotten you nowhere, remember all of us need and want love. If you haven’t found it yet, don’t worry. The time will come when you least expect it.
Love is inevitable, and therefore worth celebrating.Click To Tweet
Savour the day and look for all the good things in it. Be mindful and take things as they come.
Celebrate love whenever you want. Better yet, all the time.
Be it by yourself, with friends or alone, whichever way you plan on celebrating, have a great time.
Click on the following link for two pictures to download as your Valentine’s Day Desktop Wallpaper.
How do you celebrate or fuss about Valentine’s Day? Do you have any traditions you follow?
Share them with me in the posts below – maybe without “too much information” 🙂
63 comments
Valentine’s Day isn’t really that necessary , I mean there shouldn’t be a special day to show love to your loved ones. Everyday should be for love.
A really insightful post indeed. I personally don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, because I feel love should be shown everyday.
I enjoyed reading your post! Oh, I just celebrated Vday by myself because I’m far from the hubby.
Self love is one of the first thing one should start with . Really enjoyed reading this post 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I also find Valentine’s Day overrated. A commercial holiday for idiots lol.
I love that you made a post about this! Self love is so important in order to love others well
My amore says valentine’s day is the most expensive and commercialized day and not a good sign to start a year, hahha. But honestly i realized he is right. For us, everyday is a chance to celebrate valentines’s day.
This is a really thoughtful topic. I think that Valentine’s Day is a super commercial holiday, BUT, I see nothing wrong with couples celebrating it, especially if they are showing love to one another on all other days as well. I love your tips on how a single person can celebrate the day! Self love is the best love!
This is a great topic. I’ve asked this question a lot this year for some reason. Getting different perspectives on the day. I think we need to be mindful of our friendships and relationships everyday and not just once a year.
So, I’m still stuck on Japan being the place where men are celebrated. I knew I had a special connection with that place. (Laughing) Valentine’s Day was spent with my two daughters.
Valentine’s Day is extra special for me. I went out for lunch with my daughter. My daughter was born on Valentine’s Day—- A Valentine Baby! Doubly Sweet – Doubly Fun! 🙂
I’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day since it’s during my birthday week. I think I am okay with it 🙂
I absolutely love valentines day. This year, its all about the love of me, my friends and my special someone for me. I know some people think its just for the card shops to make money but I feel so happy on valentines xxx
I had no idea about the history behind Valentine’s Day but that’s fascinating. I don’t really celebrate it, we don’t do anything in particular because we don’t feel the need.
The history is indeed fascinating. Now i wonder how the women feel and what do they talk about after a year of dating that man? 🙂
I’m not really fussed about valentines day but I do think those in a relationship should be a little more considerate to rubbing it in the faces of those who perhaps don’t have a loved one on that day. Either way though… you should appreciate your loved one everyday – not just on a specific day 🙂
What an awesome post and I really love to read this so inspiring I’m so glad that you share this story with us.
I agree that there is a huge fuss around Valentines Day but for me while I love to dress up, I do feel like it is like any other day. After all shouldn’t couples love and adore each other regardless of what day it is in the year?
I think it really is to each their own. I am not a super huge Valentine’s day buff, but I do like surprises and hearts.
I am single so spent the evening drinking gin and watching Celebs Go Dating which was lots of fun! Kaz
Last year my hubby and I went out to a really fancy dinner and honestly didn’t find it that fun. So this year we’re staying in and he’s cooking for me! Great post.
Love is always worth celebrating, all year long, everyday of the week with the people you love. Valentines Day celebrations I think depend on the perspective of each individual person, whether single or not. My Hubs and I enjoy celebrating a little extra on this day.
Wait in Japan women give men the chocolate and gifts? I am ticked by that but I think people shouldnt pressure themselves on this day…have fun with it but it shouldnt be some gift showing contest.
Great post, we share love everyday with our girls and those around us. Love is meant to be celebrated daily. Loved your words and share them!
I do like Valentines Day but me and my husband don’t celebrate it has he always has to work. He works in a restaurant and valentines day is their busiest day of the whole year
Valentine’s Day doesn’t need to be over the top! It should be mostly about spending time with the ones that you love!
I understand that there is a deep meaning of Valentine’s Day for many cultures. I feel as if many countries have made it too commercialized though and that saddens me.
I’m not huge into valentines day. I celebrate my love with my spouse and kids every day. No need to spend a ton of money.
Good to know your thoughts about the valentines day. Its all about celebrating love with your loved ones. It should be all about fun and not something which is forced.
Thanks for sharing the history of Valentine’s Day and how various cultures celebrate it. Now that I’m older and in a relationship I tend to care less about the receiving aspect and focus more on making the kiddos happy.
I’m at the point in which I say “you do you”. For 2 out of the last 3 years I’ve gone on a girls’ trip since I didn’t have a Valentine (unlike last year). I love sharing and spreading love to my friends and hope people celebrate however they see fit.
I love your reasons to celebrate! It’s a (rare) rainy day here in Phoenix so we’re staying in and enjoying the snuggle-up, cozy time! Hope you have a great day!
I think Valentine’s is worth celebrating but it doesn’t have to be over the top. You shouldn’t really set your expectations so high. I love simple nights in. And it’s what they say, that when you find the right person, Valentine’s doesn’t have to be just one day. You’ll feel it every day.
Valentine’s Day is definitely overrated. I liked your perspective about how it is celebrated around the world. My husband is wishing we lived in Japan right now…
These are some really nice idea on why Valentine’s Day is worth celebrating. I like the idea of it being all about the love we share with all different people and to just say thank you for everything.
Great article you got there. Bottom line is Valentines is a celebration of love not just for couple but for everyone. Thanks for encouraging singles like me that it’s not the end of the world. Haha!
I am not a fan of Valentines Day, never have been. My husband asked me the other day if he had to get me anything…I told him no.
Ah this post resonates with me 100% i don’t get the point at all, why one day and the scale to which it has been blown and the insane budgets and pressures it creates on people who do not want or can’t afford and are single!!!
Personally, I’m not a massive fan of Valentine’s Day. It was really interesting reading your pros for it though. I’ve never really thought about it that way!
We don’t really do much on this day. Going out is a nightmare because there’s so many people. I much prefer to celebrate love on other days. You know, when it’s not so crowded. Tonight we’re just ordering pizza and staying in. Heck, my husband will probably play video games and I’ll read. It’s how we like it!
We live in Asia, so Valentine’s Day is winding down here–and I enjoyed our simple celebrations so much! My husband bought roses for my mom and “baby” sisters (they’re teenagers), which I thought was the cutest thing. We went out to our favorite burger joint and came home and had ice cream together. We’ve been on a tight budget lately but having a good excuse to splurge on each other a little and have some extra fun together was really nice–often we err a little to heavily on the side of being “responsible”, so holidays are a good reminder to have some fun!
It really is such a commercial holiday, but I do love to get involved in some of the excitement around Valentine’s Day x
We mark Valentine’s Day with handmade gifts and cards. I wouldn’t want to ignore it and it never hurts to remind someone how much you love them.
I have the same thoughts as you do in regards to Valentines Day. My partner and I do go out for dinner on February 14, but I strongly believe that we should act in such a way every day of the year, not just because we are “forced” to. I just feel as though the day is too commercialised to make it seem genuine. That’s just me – some people love it, some people don’t really care, and some people hate it haha. I fall in to the middle category. 🙂 x
I am not a fan of Valentine’s Day, mostly because of my husband, who’s birthday is on that day. Sounds pretty awful doesn’t it? Well, it is a pretty awful story, I am not going to share here. I love your post, though – blessings!
Ok Claudia, I hope all is fine on your end and wishing you positive energy and strength always. xoxox
I agree that it’s become commercialized .. although there’s still something fun about a day devoted to all things love. I thought the Japanese tradition was funny .. such a different view than here in the states!
Overrated and so commercialized its not even cute anymore…I mean would rather have 1 rose 12 times randomly though out the year than a dozen roses in a day just because they feel like they have to do it
It’s overrated and overly commercialized. I hate Valentine’s Day and it’s mostly because I work in an industry that thrives on that day. Well okay, I guess it’s good for us business-wise….but I hate working that day! lol
I definitely agree that V day is commercialized but its nice to treat yourself. I did and love the sound of Friendship day with Estonia x
I hope he brings me flowers, I hopes he hold my hand, give me all his hours, when he has the chance 😉
I totally agree. I will be celebrating alone and I am totally okay with it. Dont get me wrong, I do enjoy the spoils but I am also content with being single and loving myself. Till the i will enjoy my pampers, foot soak, a glass of wine and a good book or movie 🙂
I love your attitude towards this Tescha! Enjoy yourself and savour the moments of rest, peace and relaxation. In case you need an idea of how you can really relax, have a look at this post: http://www.purposefulhabits.com/experiencing-hygge/ Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!
I do agree that Valentines Day shouldn’t be about what you get or where you go, it’s about being together x
This Valentine’s for me would be really boring because my husband is out of town so I’ll be at home only, looking after my little one.
I never really knew how Vday was created. Interesting read. Also, love how Vday is selebrated in Estonia. Such a brilliant concept 😀
Very interesting read and as an ex-pat who has lived overseas in many places, I like you am always fascinated how other countries celebrate the same festivals as I do! Karen
That’s so nice to hear your point of view regarding Vday. I’ve never been a lover of this day, but I guess it’s cute in a way. But I think there’s no need for a special day when you have found the one sharing your life right? Haha x
Our tradition; long distance phone calls lol. We have been together for 10years and always managed to be on exercise during February. Have yet to celebrate Valentine’s in the same town
My wife and I have never really done much for the holiday but her brother loves it. He runs a flower shop in Seattle and makes a months income that day each year. I think I might be more encouraged if it was done the way it was practiced in Roman times but Laurel might not approve.
We celebrate the other 364 days of the year. Valentine’s Day is usually crowded restaurants and overpriced flowers. You are spot on, it is a silly Hallmark holiday – do want makes YOU happy!
I like the background of how other cultures celebrate Valentine’s day, and also agree that love should be celebrated on every day of the year. I like to invite my husband to participate – plus I reciprocate (so it’s not about entitlement). This year, I received two boxes of chocolates and three bouquets. Not only was this to mark the occasion of Valentine’s day – but as a thank you for all my efforts to celebrate his birthday which was two weeks prior. I spoilt him rotten, but didn’t give to get. I gave as an expression of love. As a singleton, I spent additional time pampering myself – rather than indulge in resentment.
Your words are really inspiring Mimi. There is a lot to learn from you I think 🙂 I really enjoyed reading your posts and will continue to do so. I appreciate your comments. Thank U